California Cafe — Attraction in Palo Alto

Pros: Only cafe on Cal Ave with indoor seating

Cons: Coffee, no wifi, landlord strongarming

Ordered an espresso shot, it tasted burnt and the beans were a cheap blend. The shot was $4.50. The picture on their sign also isn't their coffee, it's a stock image.

The owners of the new cafe bought the building with a gym and a cafe from the landlord, didn't renew the leases to kick out the previous business owners, then opened their own cafe (and eventually will open their own gym).

Found an article online where the new owners stated:

"During the pandemic, (my husband) and I every single night walked on this street and thought, ‘How can we support every single business on this street?’”

Which is funny because they kicked out multiple businesses (4 total from what I could tell) to open up the exact same businesses. Found another article where the previous businesses expressed how they didn't want to close their businesses. Seems like a funny way to "support every single business". Quite the rabbit hole I discovered.

Final review: Overpriced, cheap coffee from a landlord strongarm cafe. Wouldn't...

Let me start with, it is a very cute place with friendly staff and quality coffee beans. Anyone who is into coffee has heard of Sight Glass and they are serving that.

The only downside is pricing. I don't know how other reviewers are saying it's $1-10 for this coffee shop. And I know quality costs money, but the same espresso served on Mountain View Castro Street downtown (Red Rock Cafe) is $4.75 with the same beans and the same quality for an espresso which is $5.50 here.

Cappuccino has wayyyyy too much milk than just foam which is what it's supposed to have and that's also priced higher than their competition. It was also served in a to-go cup rather than the mug.

Avocado toast here costs $18.50 so that alone gives me a pause on why it should be $1-10. If you are having coffee here, it maybe less than $10 but if you're having even a coffee and another bite, it's $10-30 depending...

The cafe is lovely with large windows and an airy, calm atmosphere, perfect for doing work on your laptop or just drinking a latte.

I took the Latte Art class and I really learned a lot! The class started off with basics of making a latte, then went into specifics about steaming milk and how to pour the exact way to create a heart. I practiced first with soapy water (amazingly it does froth up to look just like steamed milk) and then, when I was feeling ready for it, I steamed actual milk. My first few pours (attempting a heart) looked like potatoes!! But, I finally got some actual hearts at the end, which was so satisfying. They even let me use the really fancy Italian espresso machine (which works like a dream) to make a latte. Everyone there was so kind and helpful and I really enjoyed the class.

If you have ever wanted to learn latte art, or if you know someone who does, this is...